Interior Designer and Account Executive Jill Albers on the Philosophy of Life-Centered Design

Why considering all life is integral to the future of Maine’s built environment

“Life-centered design asks us to consider all life in our design solutions, expanding the traditional constituents we solve for.”

MH+D ASKS ALBERS TO TELL US MORE.

Q. When were you first exposed to life-centered design, and what your initial reaction?

A. I am an account executive at Interface, a global leader in modular flooring; our company’s mission is Climate Take Back. In 2022 our director of design purpose, Chip DeGrace, made an internal presentation and showed us the headline from the UN Climate Change website, announcing Interface’s 2020 UN Climate Action Award. He had crossed out the word “transforming” and wrote in “designing.” He went on to explain that, while we work for a manufacturer, we are no less a design-driven company than the architectural and design community we work with directly. Our company mission was not created by chance or luck, but through direct actions and plans that were deliberately designed. We are designers, all of us, and there is power in design, especially in the face of climate change.

This discussion immediately spoke to me because design is my core passion. My degree and work experience before joining Interface was in interior design. This recharacterization of looking at everything as a design problem, and all of us as designers, made so much sense. Immediately, I understood the power of this concept—if we can rally the entire architectural community behind it.

Further on in the presentation, the idea of life-centered design (LCD) emerged. Simply put, LCD is a design philosophy that asks us to consider all life in our design solutions, expanding the traditional constituents for which we solve for. It evolved from the more traditional design theory of focusing on the human as the end benefactor of design solutions. Within LCD, there are a series of principles that help guide us to think outside our previous lens. At Interface, we have started to explore how six of these themes can be applied in a design approach: designing for all life equally, designing with nature, designing for connection, designing in collaboration, designing for good, and designing with the past and future in mind.

Q. Where could one start to incorporate LCD into their design approach?

A. It can be overwhelming at first to try to apply all life to design. It took me a minute to digest the concept. A less intimidating way that I think we can start is by asking everyone to think and act with the humbler “we” mindset—rather than “me.” We must remember that every project decision, even those that seem small and insignificant, has impacts up and down the supply chain. Start with the ones that feel bite-sized and work up to the more complex problems.

Photo: John Haskell / Haskell Photo Co.

Q. What principles and themes of LCD do you think resonate in Maine?

A. Mainers are passionate and proud of our natural beauty and undeveloped land. From the forests to the coast, we’re surrounded by ecosystems that are our duty to protect. We are perfectly poised to consider not just how the built environment will impact the human life it’s being designed for, but also how it can work with and not against the local ecosystem.

Simultaneously, we will see overlap with designing with the past and future in mind. I can’t help but think of my grandmother when I think of this theme. She was one of five born on a family farm in Mars Hill in Aroostook County. Dedication to their home, their deep family values, and their community was critical to the family’s survival. Decisions were based on need versus want: nothing was wasted, and quality and craftsmanship were immensely valuable. They found honor in the ability to pass items and skills through multiple generations. It was a humble and happy place, and I am now one of the many torchbearers in my family continuing this legacy and sharing these values with my children and future generations. I love to joke that my grandmother was the greatest environmentalist I never knew I knew. And apparently she could have taught us a thing a two about considering ALL LIFE as well. Who knew!

MH+D is proud to partner with acclaimed architectural photographer Trent Bell on his architecture, design, and photography podcast. To hear Bell’s conversation with Albers, please visit adppodcast.com.

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